Iloke Egbe SPC
The Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer Cross River State Planning Commission Pastor Dr. Bong Duke has affirmed that planning without reliable and timely data is simply a guesswork, that with modern data the State can prioritize scarce resources where they matter most, track results and ensure social justice and inclusion.
He stated this when he declared open a one day training workshop organized by the State Bureau of Statistics in commemoration of African statistics day, held at Marian hotel Calabar with the theme, leveraging innovation in Data and statistics to promote a just, peaceful, inclusive and prosperous Cross River State.
That recent seasons have shown increased domestic tourism activity, underscoring the economic potential of tourism for jobs and revenue generation in communities, adding that these assets create imperative to plan smartly so that growth benefits ordinary Cross Riverians in all Local Governments Areas including urban and rural. That smart planning requires granular, timely and accurate data on households, labour markets, informal enterprises, infrastructure gaps and environmental risks.
He expressed his appreciation to the Governor His Excellency Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu for his Visionary support for integrated planning and data-driven governance, will calling on all MDAs to partner with the Bureau of Statistics, commit to credible administrative data, train Staff on data use and support efforts to digitalize and standardize reporting.
Earlier the acting Director of Statistics, Mrs. Akedoh Edet informed that African Statistics Day gives stakeholders an annual opportunity to emphasize the centrality of data in the development of the society. She admitted that over the years, the Bureau of Statistics has advanced several initiatives to improve the timeliness and quality of statistics, digitalizing core surveys, expanding data dissemination channels to reach Ministries, Departments and Agencies including the public and strengthening partnerships for technical support.
She called on MDAs to deepen collaboration with Bureau of Statistics by sharing administrative records and jointly define indicators by making evidence central to budgeting and monitoring.
She informed that the Bureau is committed to launch targeted capacity-building workshops for MDAs data officers, publish a user-friendly State data dashboard that will highlight progress on priority sectors. Strengthen gender-disaggregated and sub-State level statistics to guide inclusive policy. Deepen collaboration with the planning Commission to ensure statistics feed directly into the State Development plan.
Highlights of the event were paper presentations, panel discussion, goodwill messages, cultural dance, questions and answers, award presentation to distinguished personality and group photograph, while dignitaries from World Health Organization, BTAN, NBS, UNHCR, MDAs graced the event.
No comments:
Post a Comment